Databricks ($PRIVATE:DATABRICKS) is an oft-mentioned startup that recently made the LinkedIn Top Startups of 2019 list. The big-data company has been gaining steam — both in terms of hiring activity and workforce size — since 2018, despite having been founded in 2013.
Databricks provides a unified analytics platform that "accelerates innovation by unifying data science, engineering and business", and has been integrated with Microsoft's Azure Cloud earlier this year. If all of that sounded like gibberish, you're not alone, but rest assured this is a great tech and data company that is on the rise.
Hiring on the rise
At the end of 2017 and start of 2018, Databricks had 265 employees listed on LinkedIn. By the start of 2019, that number had gone up 125% to nearly 600, and now sits at just under 1,000. That's a 60% increase from last year and a 260% increase since 2017.
We don't always connect hiring or firings to potential good or bad news, but it's hard to think such a trend upwards is anything but positive for such a young company. Databricks' Chief People Officer Amy Reichanadter agrees, laying out the company's strategy about hiring in a press release: "In this hyper-growth stage, we are making it a priority to focus on creating scalable hiring and employee retention programs. We depend on referrals as the number one resource for recruiting, so we strive for our current employees to spread the word that accepting a job at Databricks is the best career decision they ever made."
In May, there was a low of 113 openings, and that number saw a 71% increase to a recent high of 194.
Databricks seems most interested in hiring engineers and architects, and recruiting, which indicate plans for future, accelerated workforce growth.
In the past quarter, there are notable rises in job listings for Azure Sales, Education & Training, and the aforementioned Recruiting divisions at Databricks.
Social media
Databricks appears to know what it's doing in terms of social media. It's been on a steady 56% increase since 2017, unwaivering in its ability to gain new followers who are interested in developing unified analytics platforms.
Facebook likes and followers have been on the same exact trajectory since 2018, doubling in a year, and up 7,000 in total since early 2017.
About the Data:
Thinknum tracks companies using information they post online - jobs, social and web traffic, product sales and app ratings - and creates data sets that measure factors like hiring, revenue and foot traffic. Data sets may not be fully comprehensive (they only account for what is available on the web), but they can be used to gauge performance factors like staffing and sales.